Adventures In Tokyo
by Not A Pretty Girl
Summary: Heero and Relena take a vacation to Japan in hopes to "get away from it all" Unfortunately, things don’t go quite as they planned and they end up getting into a lot more trouble than they bargained for. Slightly OOC
1. O n e

Adventures In Tokyo  
  
Disclaimer: No matter how many times I'd like to convince myself, Gundam Wing and all respective characters do not belong to me.   
  
  
Relena rolled over on her back, then her front, then back again, tossing relentlessly in her sleep. Her breath came in short, broken gasps, as though breathing was a thing she had to remember to do. A crown of cold sweat clung to her forehead, which was coincidentally burning up with fever. And still, she dreamed, or rather, was caught in a nightmare.   
  
**In her dream, Relena found herself standing in a dark, cramped hallway, the air around her hovering like a blanket, threatening to smother her. It damp in there, with the smell of raw fish stuck permanently in the air. She had never been here before, but every night for the past week she had dreamt of this place. And tonight was no exception. The sounds of prisoners moaning filled the air like an alarm, their voices rising and falling with different tones of agony, but never fading away. Behind their tortured cries came the monotonous drip of water that seemed to pound into her brain. Despite the unbearable heat, Relena shivered, out of fear.  
  
She knew what was coming next. The same vision that came to haunt her every night. She could already hear them approaching, hard as steel heavy boots pounding and echoing on the stone floor below, the faint clink of metal on metal as their machine guns hit the buckles on their belts with every step they took. But the sound that accompanied the arrival of these soldiers was much worse. It was a continuous sound, a shuffling, grating noise barraging her ears with relentlessness. The sound of someone being dragged across the floor.  
  
Now the soldiers were so close, she could see them as well as hear them, their faces hard and set in an interminable scowl. Their arms were linked behind them, dragging a third person into view. And although she'd seen it night after night, she could feel her heart skip a beat before plummeting down to her stomach as they passed. There was no mistaking him. That unruly brown hair that was matted down now with dirt and blood. Those prussian blue eyes that were fluttering open and closed, slipping in and out of consciousness. That calm collected voice that was now moaning with the effort of staying alive. Heero.   
  
She clenched and unclenched her fists as his captors silenced his efforts with a quick blow to the head with the butt of their rifles. She watched in a brutal state of helplessness as his head slumped defeated against his shoulder, surrendering to the endless darkness that the comatose world of the unconscious provided. And just like every night, she lunged at the soldiers, tearing away at the arms that dragged Heero along like a worthless doll, kicked at the legs that were slowly propelling him to an ominous future. But her hands slid right through theirs, and their eyes never once made contact with hers. She was nothing but a ghost, invisible to this bleak future that her dreams foretold. And there was nothing she could do to stop what was coming. The soldiers reached the end of the hall and stopped at a bolted door. One of them typed in an entry code, ironically shielding it from Relena's view, and the door slid open.   
  
Once inside the room, Relena could clearly see it was meant for interrogation. And was prepared to use any methods of getting whatever information it wanted. The only furniture in the room was a black metal chair in the center, complete with arm, leg and head restraints. That and an ugly silver metal table in the corner, covered with knives, scalpels, needles and syringes. Relena shivered again and watched in horror as the men forced Heero into the cold black chair and strapped him down. They left the room quickly, as though they were afraid of who would come in next.   
  
Then, just as it always did, the dream began to get fuzzy. The edges of Relena's vision blurred, not from her tears, but from some unseen force. Her vision was coming to an end. "NO!" Relena cried out, trying to run towards the still unconscious Heero, her every movement feeling as though she were treading through molasses. "I have to know what happens. I have to know how to save him!" Even as she spoke, her world began to close in around her. Blackness and color ran together forming blurry and fuzzy shapes moving in front of her eyes. She tried to scream out to him, but found her lungs seemed to be smothered. But the interrogation room was still there. Unfocussed and barely visible, but still there. Relena strained with every ounce of strength she owned to see who had just entered the room. But all she could see was an outline of a figure. All she could hear was Heero's painful moan. Then everything went black. **  
  
"No!" Relena screamed and sat bolt upright in bed. Her blonde hair was matted down against her face, and her eyes were wide in fear. "Heero," she mumbled, stumbling out of bed. "I have to find Heero." She exited her room, stumbling through the darkened hallway of the Maxwell home, not bothering to turn on a light. She had to find him, to see him and reassure herself that he was okay. To comfort herself in the fact that the terrible future that plagued her every night had not come to pass.   
  
She stumbled blindly down the stairs, managing to trip over Duo's pogo stick and half fell, half trip, all the way to the bottom. When she had righted herself and made sure she didn't break any bones, Relena headed to the kitchen, where the usual hum of the refrigerator was accompanied by the yellow light that emitted from it when it was open.   
  
As she entered the kitchen she saw Heero bending over and investigating the contents of the fridge, trying to be as noiseless as possible as he rummaged around through the crisper.   
  
"Heero?"  
  
Being caught unaware, Heero lifted his head quickly and banged it on the closed freezer door. He quickly swore and closed the fridge. "Yeah?" he asked rubbing his sore head and vaguely wondering if his late night snacking woke everyone up.  
  
Relena bit her lip. What was she supposed to say? Heero, I just had a dream where you were going to be tortured so I think that you should board yourself up in a box and not come out for a few years. Um, how about...no. She sighed and propped herself up on the kitchen table. "I was thinking," she began, glancing from him to the plate of salad he held in his hand. "Maybe we should go on a vacation."  
  
Relena mentally bonked herself in the head, as Heero took a seat at the table, stabbing his salad absentmindedly. *Where did that come from?* she silently berated herself, not knowing the answer. *Do you actually believe that if you go on a vacation, those OZ creeps won't follow you?*  
  
She looked over at Heero, who was slowly drizzling dressing all over his salad. He seemed more asleep than awake. "Hn. Where did you want to go?" It was impossible for anyone to look as clueless as Relena did at that moment.   
  
"Um," she started, tossing the question around in her head. *Where could they go where no OZ activity had been reported, but would be fun too?*  
  
"How about Japan? I've always wanted to go there, and you lived there for a year, didn't you?"  
  
Heero looked up from his salad, considering this proposal. "Why all of a sudden?" he asked, consuming a fork full of lettuce. Relena shrugged and picked a piece of cabbage off his plate, popping it into her own mouth. "I dunno, I just figured a vacation would be nice." *Oh, real smooth. At least it sounded better than, "I'm afraid you're going to be killed if we stay here."*  
  
Heero nodded and offered her a fork full of his salad. "Sounds reasonable. I guess I'll go look at the shuttle schedules in the morning."   
  
Relena grinned, nodded, ate the salad, and hopped off the table in all less than 2 seconds. "Okay, great. Well, I guess we can talk more tomorrow." Heero nodded and got up to put the dish in the sink. As soon as he did so he found himself enveloped in a giant bear hug with Relena's head on his shoulder. He looked down at her. Something was bothering her, that much he could tell. But Heero Yuy wasn't one to press someone for details.   
  
As if she sensed his worrying gaze Relena broke off the hug, not before giving his hand a squeeze as though to reassure herself he was there. "See you tomorrow!" she said, exiting the kitchen and starting up the stairs. "Yeah," Heero mumbled, mostly to himself, his gaze never softening from their worrying state. "Tomorrow."  



	2. T w o

Adventures In Tokyo  
  
Disclaimer: No matter how many times I'd like to convince myself, Gundam Wing and all respective characters do not belong to me.   
  
  
"Rise and shine!" Duo called amiably, opening the blinds on Hilde's window with a snap and letting the dazzlingly bright sunlight shine directly in her eyes.   
  
"GAH!" Hilde cried shading her eyes and chucking a pillow over at Duo. He chuckled and ducked the oncoming assault. "Duo Maxwell!" she pouted, adjusting her other pillow firmly over her face and scowling through the fabric at her boyfriend. "What in Kami's name do you think you're doing?" Duo shrugged and bounced happily around Hilde's room, his braid following his movements like an extremely furry yo-yo. "I dunno, I was bored."  
  
Hilde sat up and rubbed her eyes, which were dancing with little spots from the sun. "Why don't you go annoy the hell out of someone else?" she inquired politely. Duo shrugged again and plopped down in the chair across from her. "Guess what?"  
  
"Hmm?" Hilde grumbled, not really caring what gossip Duo had overheard while making breakfast. "Heero and Relena are going to Japan."  
  
"GAH?" Hilde exclaimed for the second time that day, nearly falling off the edge of her bed. Duo grinned. "If your going to speak to me in nonsense words, at least be kind enough to lend me out your dictionary." Hilde scowled and countered. "Maybe if someone doesn't keep waking me up at the crack of dawn, I might be awake enough to talk to you intelligently." She paused to allow her braided boyfriend to cough loudly before continuing. "So what's this you're telling me? You're not making stuff up again, are you?"  
  
Duo shook his head vigorously. "It's true! Relena told Noin and Noin told Milliardo and Milliardo told me!" he exclaimed, grinning triumphantly. Hilde got to her feet and gave Duo an encouraging pat on the head. "Good for you," she said sweetly, and started down the stairs.   
  
By the time everyone was seated at the table, the whole Maxwell house population knew about Relena and Heero's travel plans. "So," Noin began, passing the butter to Milliardo. "How long are you staying in Japan?" Heero glanced up at the two Peacecraft's from over his mound of scrambled eggs. "Not as long as you two in the Bahamas." He said, noting that they were tan enough to pass as a couple of island natives. "Probably a couple months."  
  
"A couple months!" Hilde repeated, choking on some of Duo's pathetic excuse for bacon. "Aw, it's going to be no fun without having you and Relena to make fun of all the time!"   
  
"Yeah," Duo put in, stealing a muffin from Hilde's plate when she wasn't looking. "I guess we're going to have to concentrate all our efforts on Noin and Milliardo."   
  
Both of the mentioned individuals visibly paled at this.   
  
Relena bit into her own muffin, looking a little bit distracted. "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know. And here I was, thinking you guys would be glad to get rid of us…"  
  
  
After breakfast, everyone parted to go their separate ways. Noin and Milli hijacked Duo's new convertible and went out for a spin. Heero left to go and pick up some shuttle tickets for himself and Relena, who were planning on leaving the next day. Relena was up in her room packing. Duo and Hilde found themselves with nothing to do.   
  
"Man, I wish you would ask me to go on a vacation…" Hilde pouted while enduring reruns of Duo's favorite show, The Mousketeers. Duo managed to pry his eyes off of a young Britney Spear's singing rendition of the 'Donald Duck Song' long enough to register what Hilde was saying. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly, returning what little attention he possessed back to Britney and Donald, dancing up a storm on screen. "I'll take you to some remote volcanic island and we'll have a jolly good time."   
  
Hilde rolled her eyes and turned off the TV, deaf to Duo's protests. "I have an idea!" she said excitedly. "What if me and you…tag along with Heero and Relena to Japan?" As soon as Hilde finished speaking, Duo lit up like a firecracker. "Coolness!" he said, dissolving into evil laughter. Hilde joined him, and the two sat there and laughed their heads off until a big heavy platform shoe came flying at them from upstairs and Relena hollered for them to shut up.   
  
"Japan," Hilde whispered, "Here we come!"   
  
  
"Last call for Shuttle199 bound for Earth. Shuttle199 bound for Earth. Sector target: Tokyo, Japan."   
  
"Come on Heero!" Relena called, dragging him by the hand through the crowded space port. "We're going to miss the shuttle." Heero, rolling his eyes, allowed himself to be weaved in and out of the milling crowd towards gate A99. He didn't think it would really matter if he reminded Relena that he was the one carrying all their stuff, and Kami only knows what she packed in the 20 pound suitcase she dumped on him. Relena quickly flashed two passports into the gate guard's face. One showed Heero giving the camera an ominous death glare, the other showed Relena favoring the camera with a polite smile. The flight attendant nodded and waved them through.  
  
Relena bounded through the metal detector without any troubles. But when Heero tried to step through, the alarm began buzzing like there was no tomorrow. A few attendants came over to talk to Heero. "Do you have anything metallic on you, keys, loose change, a- uh- umm..." The attendant's voice trailed off as Heero removed, from some hidden location, his hand gun.   
  
"Could this be the problem?" he asked, completely serious.  
  
"Uh, uh. Uh." The guard stuttered, fumbling around for an answer.  
  
Heero smirked and Relena sweatdropped. It was going to be a long flight.  
  
  
"DUO!" Hilde yelled, pushing her boyfriend past the baggage check and towards gate number A99. "What is your problem?"   
  
Duo, who had been fidgeting around nervously for the past few minutes, stopped twitching and faced his girlfriend. "I forgot to tell Quatre to tape the Mousketeer Marathon!" he whined, his lower lip trembling. Hilde, too disgusted for words, pushed Duo roughly through the boarding gate and plopped him down in a seat in the far back of the plane.  
  
"Now, all we have to do is keep out of Heero and Relena's sight…" Hilde whispered, but Duo wasn't listening. His lower lip was trembling again.  
  
"What is it Duo?"  
  
"I-I-" Duo began, two big fake tears spilling down his cheeks. "I wanted the window seat."  
  
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Hilde exclaimed while jumping to her feet.   
  
Duo grinned and scooted over to sit by the window while Hilde, scowling darkly, took the aisle seat in aggravated silence.   
  
By the time the whole mess with the metal detector was sorted out, Heero and Relena barely had time to catch their flight. As they were taking their seats Relena noticed that Heero was smirking. "You think you're pretty funny with that whole gun business, don't you?"  
  
Smirk.  
  
"Hah hah. You're just the king of comedy now."  
  
Smirk.  
  
"Are you listening to me?"  
  
Smirk.  
  
Sigh.  
  
Smirk.  
  
"You're not funny."  
  
Smirk.  
  
"The shuttle will now be entering the atmosphere. Please fasten your seatbelts and remain seated. We should arrive in Tokyo within the hour."  
  
Relena woke up with a jolt as the shuttle began to shudder under their feet with the friction of penetrating through the atmosphere. She poked Heero who woke up instantly. "We're going to Earth now," she whispered, pointing out the window. "Isn't it beautiful?" Heero nodded as the vast swirling mass of white clouds and blue water was reflected in his eyes. It felt like he was coming home.   
  
Meanwhile, at the far back of the plane, Duo was fast asleep and snoring like a little baby. Hilde was rummaging through her carry-on trying to find something adequately hard enough to rap Duo on the head with, but eventually just gave up and settled for her fist. Duo gave a yelp of pain as he was awoken by the hard beating of Hilde's palm upon his head, but quieted down when he saw Heero's head swivel to see who dared to yowl painfully in his presence.   
  
The shuttle gave a sickening dip as they broke through the red hot atmosphere and proceeded to glide smoothly through the air. In a matter of minutes, the shuttle made a spectacularly clear landing at the docking bay, and the occupants began to shuffle around in their seats in anticipation.   
  
"Konnichi-wa, visitors." Came an unbearably cheerful voice from up front. Everyone groaned and turned to face the speaker, who coincidentally turned out to be a very much American flight attendant trying in vain to pretend she was Japanese. "Now if you will all just settle down more one moment, I'm sure we can run through safety precautions quickly, ne?"   
  
Relena moaned and tried to block out the high pitched voice pounding in her ears. "It sounds like Duo after he inhales helium…" she mumbled and Heero nodded.  
  
After hours seemed to pass, the flight attendant decided she tortured them enough on history, customs, and tourist safety all regarding Japan, and gave an awkward bow to signal they were free to go. "Konbanwa!" she screeched, before getting swallowed up by the crowd.   
  
Everyone jumped to their feet, luggage in hand, and crowded each other to exit the shuttle all at the same time. The lecturing flight attendant wormed her way through them all and stood guard at the exit. "Ja ne! Enjoy your stay!" she squeaked as each person passed her. Heero growled. "Who does she think she is? I bet she doesn't even know what she's saying." Relena giggled. "Only one way to find out."  
  
When it was Heero and Relena's turn to exit the shuttle, the annoying attendant squealed, "Ja ne!"   
  
Heero looked at her coldly and said "Omae O Korosu."  
  
The attendant blinked in an empty sort of way, then resumed her smiling. "Aw thanks, and same to you. Enjoy your stay!"   
  
Heero smirked and Relena laughed.  
  
They stepped off the shuttle into the bright afternoon sunlight.  



	3. T h r e e

Adventures In Tokyo  
  
Disclaimer: No matter how many times I'd like to convince myself, Gundam Wing and all respective characters do not belong to me.   
  
  
"Where are we staying anyway?" Hilde asked, trailing Heero and Relena from a good distance away. Duo shrugged. "Well, Relena and Heero are staying with Wufei's mom. I think Heero said her name was Utena."  
  
"Boy, I never really thought about Wufei having family down here. All you pilots come off as such loners." Duo nodded, and continued strolling along, taking in the sights that downtown Tokyo offered. "So," Hilde prompted, prying her gaze off a TV appliances store that was playing reruns of her favorite anime in the window. "If they're staying with Utena, then where are we staying?" Duo grinned. "Don't worry, baby. I have just the place." Hilde groaned.  
  
"That's just what I was afraid of."  
  
Just ahead of them, Relena and Heero were walking arm in arm through the very heart of Tokyo, enjoying every minute of it. It sounded like any other city, with cars beeping and trains clacking along the rails. Only there were far less cars as there were bikes, the streets were lined with flowers and trees, blocking out the metal atrocity of the railway. Just around the corner, a giant wooden arch, carved intricately with many romaji symbols, clearly stated it was the entrance to the only park in downtown Tokyo.  
  
"Oh look!" Relena gasped excitedly, pointing at the entrance to the park. Heero followed her gaze with a faraway look in his eyes and said, "You want to go in? The cherry trees are in bloom…" Relena nodded, eyes shining, and breathed in the heavenly aroma of sakura blossoms. "See, this vacation is exactly what we needed." she murmured as they entered the park.  
  
"Duo!" Hilde cautioned as Shinigami kept right on walking past the park and down the street. "We're going to loose them! They went in there!" Duo whirled around to see the pink leafed cherry trees over the high stone wall that surrounded them. "Don't worry, Hilde. We'll catch up later. Right now we gotta book ourselves two rooms at the hotel."  
  
Hilde did a double take. "Hotel?" she squealed, jumping up and giving Duo a hug. "Ooh, you're the best! And I thought you were going to make me sleep in the gutter!" Duo blinked and chuckled lamely, putting his arm behind his head. "Well, heh heh, here's the thing. You're going to laugh when you hear this. It's not exactly the best hotel around. I mean to say..ah, er. Oh dear."  
  
Hilde looked deadly at him.   
  
"But don't worry, Duo gives it two thumbs up."  
  
"Duo….." Hilde warned through gritted teeth.  
  
"Heh heh heh…funny, isn't it?" Duo said, backing away. "Why aren't you laughing?"  
  
  
Heero and Relena entered the park and were immediately caught in the most breathtaking sight they had ever seen. All around them were the majestically haunting cherry trees, their rich oak boughs laden with pale pink flowers that swayed and swirled in the breeze. With every breath of wind, a few cherry blossoms, called sakura blossoms, would drift from the mighty trees and perform acrobatic feats on the back of the wind, before settling gently onto the ground. Relena sighed happily and caught a few in her hands, while others fell into Heero's hair. She giggled as he sneezed. Suddenly, someone tapped them on the shoulders. They whirled around in unison to see someone they did not recognize standing behind them. "It's about time you two arrived." The woman said. Heero and Relena exchanged glances.  
  
"Do we know you?" Heero ventured, raising an eyebrow at the girl before them. The stranger's hair was as pink as the cotton candy colored sakura blossoms that swirled all around them. Her eyes were a deep crimson and they sparkled at some private joke that he couldn't read into. Her long hair blew straight up behind her as a particularly big breeze gusted through, and she struggled to adjust her cherry red kimono. "No," the girl answered silkily, extending her hand. "I'm Akira. It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
Heero merely stared at her outstretched hand, so Relena shook it for him.   
  
The three stood looking each other over for a moment before Akira spoke. "I know you're still wondering who I am," she said sweetly, her voice taking on the quality of music. "Utena got tied up on business, although she desperately wanted to see her son's little friends," She paused to glance meaningfully at the two of them. "So, she sent me to house sit, and to take on the position of host family in her place. I hope we all get to be great friends!" she finished, smiling warmly.  
  
Relena returned the grin, and Heero gave a little less than a nod. Akira frowned. "What's with tall, dark and handsome? Is he shy?" she asked, flashing Heero a heartbreaking smile, who in turn, blinked. Relena rolled her eyes. "He just doesn't take to strangers, or anyone else for that matter." Heero stepped on her foot as she spoke and she yelped, whacking him on the arm. Akira laughed at their little spat, her voice sounding like melodious chimes mixed with a mysterious air of something else. "Come on you two, I'll show you where the house is. And then I can take you shopping!"   
  
"Yeah! Shopping!" Relena echoed, and Heero groaned.   
  
"Can't we go anywhere without you dragging me to the mall?" Heero asked.  
  
"No." both Akira and Relena replied in unison, before dissolving into more laughter at Heero's genuinely exasperated expression.  
  
"So," Relena began, walking down the street in her beautiful new emerald green kimono with silver kanji patterns. "How do you know Utena? I don't think Wufei's ever mentioned you before. Not that he talks about anyone from his past."   
  
Akira smiled, adjusting the circle of sakura blossoms that were expertly weaved through her hair. "Just an acquaintance," she said mysteriously, before glancing down at her pink Hello Kitty watch. "Oh my gosh, it's getting late! We'd better head back to the apartment!" Relena nodded and looked at Heero, who was smiling to himself because he had sweet talked his way out of Relena buying him some Japanese apparel of his own.   
  
"We had better head back then," he agreed, glancing up at the fading sun. "I doubt anything happens here after dark."   
  
His statement initiated an audible gasp from Akira. "That reminds me! Next week is the annual Light of Hope Parade! It's really beautiful, and especially romantic." She added, elbowing Heero in the ribs. "Cool, we'll be there." Relena said happily, leaning against Heero's shoulder and yawning as the sun sank into the ground and darkness began to span across the heavens. "Perfect." Akira responded, her eyes glimmering brightly despite the dreary lighting. "Perfect."  
  
  
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Duo inquired, glancing from a piece of paper clutched tightly in his hands to the matching number on the door in front of him. Hilde nodded, for seemed like the umpteenth time. "Yes, Duo. This is the apartment they're staying at. See how the numbers look alike? That's because it's the same freaking address!" Duo blinked, then looked from the paper to the door again. "OK, you're the boss. Are you sure they're out though?" Hilde nodded again. "I saw that pink haired girl drive the car away with my own two eyes. Let's go already."  
  
"Your wish is my command." Duo said bowing, then stopped seeing the evil look in Hilde's eyes. "On second thought, I retract my statement. Duo pulled a bobby pin out of his braid and stuck it in the doorknob, then began fiddling around with it. Two turns, five twists, and a curse later, the door slowly swung open, revealing the dark apartment within. Duo cautiously stepped inside. "Geez, they're already been here a week, and some of their stuff is still in suitcases." Hilde, who was following him in, issued a quick kick to the back of his leg. "I wish I could have the luxury of unpacking. But since you booked us at Hotel Hobo, I'm afraid to take my things out of the suitcase!" Duo winced at her words and at the throbbing pain on the back of his leg. "It's not that bad Hilde-" he began but she interrupted him. "Duo, I would rather sleep in a cardboard box."   
  
The two were silent for awhile, and contented themselves by poking around the kitchenette and family room, which were quite luxurious for an apartment. "Is this where Wufei grew up?" Hilde wondered out loud, poking her head inside one of the kitchen cabinets and sneezing. "Or did he live on the colony?" Duo shrugged. "Why are we doing this again?"  
  
"Cause it's fun."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Hilde stepped out into the hallway leading to the three back bedrooms and the bathroom.   
  
"Think we should go have a look at their room?"  
  
"Ladies first," Duo said politely, stepping backward to let Hilde go down the hall first. Hilde grinned and pushed Duo in front of her. "Oh by all means Duo, don't deny yourself the privilege." The two of them carefully made their way down the hall, examining every nook and cranny for no apparent reason at all. Then, the nightmare occurred. They heard voices. Both Hilde and Duo froze in mid-step, and listened.   
  
  
"So, what do you think of Akira?" Relena's voice asked from inside the farthest room to the right. The door was shut. Heero's voice was heard next, replying, "She's all right. You two seem to be good friends." Duo looked across the hall at Hilde and mouthed 'Who's Akira?' Hilde shrugged and they tiptoed closer to the door.   
  
"I wonder what they're doing in there," Duo whispered, putting his ear to the crack underneath the door. Hilde blinked. "Sounds like their talking." Duo put a finger to his lips and the voices started up again.  
  
"OK Heero, pick a letter." Relena demanded.   
  
"T." Heero said determinedly.  
  
A brief silence followed, broken by Heero questioning, "Well?"  
  
"Hah! Scrabble! I win again!"  
  
"What? You always win?"  
  
"I know."  
  
Duo and Hilde looked at each other and tried fretfully to stifle their laughter.   
  
"I don't think Heero's ever played Scrabble in his life." Hilde whispered to Duo, who nodded reverently. Hilde shushed him to listen to their voices again.  
  
"OK Heero, you lost. You know the consequence."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. What's it gonna be?"  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Um, I think let's go with the pants this time."  
  
Following this statement, Duo turned to Hilde open mouthed, managing to gasp out, "They're playing STRIP SCRABBLE!" Hilde giggled. "I didn't know there was any such thing!" Duo, trying not to burst out laughing, clutched at his side. "I think my lungs are going to burst.." he whispered, and Hilde nodded, biting her lip to prevent herself from giggling. "Let's get out of here," she whispered, starting back towards the door. "We have just uncovered enough blackmail to last for a lifetime. Duo nodded, tears of mirth threatening to leak down his face as he exited the partment. And as Hilde closed the door, she could hear Heero cry out in triumph,  
  
"HAH! I finally won!"  



	4. F o u r

Adventures In Tokyo  
  
Disclaimer: No matter how many times I'd like to convince myself, Gundam Wing and all respective characters do not belong to me.   
  
  
The night air was crisp and cold, yet surprisingly calm, managing to be frostily intimidating without rifling one breath of wind. The dark streets of downtown Tokyo were illuminated in the haunting, dim glow of firefly lanterns, hung in pairs all down the street corner. Hundreds of people crowded on the curb, cradling in their gloved hands a pure white candle, it's fragile flame flickering in the breeze. And in the street in front of them, a majestic parade processed, full of floats coated in feathers that looked like they were from angels wings, candle bearing choirs singing cultural Japanese melodies, and numerous attractions bedecked from head to toe in pale white orbs of light. The whole majesty of the event was reflected in the crowd's shining eyes as they leaned against their significant others and took in the beauty before them. The Light of Hope Parade had come at last.  
  
"Hurry up Heero! I can tell they already started!" Relena urged, dragging Heero down the street by his arm. He didn't protest, but rather quickened his pace to avoid having his arm pulled out of the socket. Akira trailed the two, smiling to herself and knowing that the parade was at least 10 minutes into the procession by now. The three of them rounded a corner expecting to see the familiar soft white lights hanging from the lamp posts, but found themselves facing a dead end.   
  
"Where are we?" Heero asked Akira, who blinked twice in unison. "I think we're around the abandoned warehouse…" she mused, looking at their dingy surroundings. "I must not have paid any attention to where we were going."   
  
Heero nodded and Relena groaned. "Aw, we're gonna miss the parade!"  
  
"Don't worry," Akira said hastily. "I know the way from here."   
  
A soft moan issued from behind them.   
  
Heero spun around to face the noise, but found nothing but the silhouette of the warehouse. "What was that?"  
  
Akira shrugged and linked arms with the two of them. "Who knows. Probably a bum or something. C'mon, let's get out of here, this place is creepy." The backtracked their steps and re-turned the corner, heading off to the parade in the distance.   
  
  
Hilde steadied herself on Duo's shoulders and watched as the parade floated past them. "I wonder where Heero and Relena are…" she said, trying to keep her eyes away from a particularly interesting float and intending to spot their targets instead.  
  
"Oooh! Ooohh! There they are!!" Duo said excitedly, jumping up and down and nearly throwing Hilde off his shoulders. "Whoah there Bessie!" Hilde exclaimed, grabbing onto his braid like a reign. "Where??"  
  
Duo jabbed his finger in the direction where he had an Relena-Heero sighting. And sure enough, there they were, accompanied by that pink-haired stranger.   
  
"And now," Hilde grinned. "We move in for the kill.."  
  
  
"It's really beautiful isn't it?" Relena whispered. Heero nodded, remembering the first time he had seen this parade, many years ago. The floats drifted past them, beams of white light piercing through the blankets of darkness surrounding them and splaying rainbow patterns on the ground below. Akira sighed audibly behind them, but it was one out of exasperation.   
  
"Heero, I really hate to ruin the moment, but that stupid concession owner over there won't let me buy a candle," she said, sticking out her lower lip in a pout and pointing behind her at a pudgy, middle aged man who was cursing loudly in Japanese. "Can you, um, talk to him?"   
  
"Well…" Heero began, but Relena sighed and said, "Sure, just be quick about it. The last part of the parade is always the best. They've got fireworks." Heero nodded and regretfully detached himself from his girlfriend to go and help Akira out. Relena watched him disappear into the crowd with growing unease. She tried to re-immerse herself in the beauty of the parade, but failed. The music issuing from the procession merely swirled around her instead of inside her, and served as a ticking clock, counting down the minutes until Heero came back. Five. Ten. What was taking so long?   
  
She was beginning to feel lightheaded, and leaned up against a lamp post for support. Where could he be? Fifteen minutes later, she felt someone tap her shoulder. She whirled around, prepared to give both of them an earful, when she noticed that it was neither Heero nor Akira who was the captor of her attention. It was the Japanese concession stand owner, no longer looking upset at all, but just a little annoyed.   
  
"Could you possibly move a little to your right," he asked her in fluent Japanese. "I can't see the parade." Relena blinked, then complied, now standing further away from the light post that served as her anchor, and feeling the world begin to spin. "Why aren't you working your concession stand?" she asked him, hoping to pry out some information on where Heero and Akira had gone. The man looked at her in surprise, stunned that she could speak Japanese as well as he could. Then he replied, "What are you talking about child, I don't run a concession stand." Relena felt the floor slip out from underneath her, and she lurched towards the ground. She felt unbearably dizzy. The man, seeing her fall, reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her. "Are you alright, little one?" he asked, brown eyes concerned. She shook her head. "No, but, but I'll be fine. I- I- have to go."  
  
Relena wretched herself free from the man's grasp and stumbled through the crowd in search of Heero. Her head was pounding and the world around her hazed in and out of focus. She felt as though she was going to pass out. "Heero!" she cried into the crowd, feeling the pulse of danger rising in the back of her head. "Heero! Where are you?"  
  
There was no response.  
  
  
She stopped, leaning up against the wall of a building to catch her breath. What was wrong with her? And where had Heero gone?   
  
"Heero.." she called out weakly, sinking to her knees, then falling unconscious to the cement ground below.   
  
  
Duo was the one to see her fall. He and Hilde had been slinking their way through the crowds, inch by inch, to get in a better position to spy on Relena and Heero. But before they could reach them, Heero left with pink hair, leaving Relena all alone. They had raised eyebrows at this, but thought nothing of it. But then Relena left her post as well. And now she was down.   
  
"Relena!" Hilde yelled, elbowing her way through the crowd to reach the unconscious girl. "Duo, did you see what happened?" Duo shook his head, worming through the throng of people at high speed, his braid whipping out wildly behind him. "Nah, she just collapsed."  
  
The dynamic duo reached Relena at the same time, and to their surprise, found that her eyes were still open. Fogged over, but open. "Relena?" Duo whispered, shaking his sister's arm to try and rouse her. There was no affect. "Relena, can you hear me?" Relena gave a little moan of despair but didn't reply. Duo and Hilde exchanged worried glances. What was going on?  
  
  
**It was the dream again. The nightmare. It had returned to her, even in the day. She was back in that dark hallway that smelled of fear and death. Back to hearing the footsteps of the soldiers. Only now they were closer, louder. Deadlier.   
  
"Why are you doing this to me?!" Relena yelled, her own words getting swallowed up by the nothingness of the vision. And she watched in silence as the soldiers came into view, dragging Heero along with them. Watched as they entered the room, shutting the metal door behind them. Heard his moan. And prepared for the nightmare to end.  
  
But it didn't.  
  
The fading vision remained intact, her eyes were unclouded by fog. She was still there, still living in this futuristic prophesy. And that's when she heard it. The voice. Soft and calming as music, but now glinting ominously with an edge like a dagger. Relena slowly walked through the bolted door, her own footsteps making no sounds, but the pounding of her own heart echoing off the stone walls.   
  
Heero was sitting in the chair, strapped up against it like a caged and wounded animal. And she was there, watching. Laughing at his pain, his misery. There was no mistaking that cotton candy hair, those fathomless red eyes. Akira. The captor. And the worst part was that Relena had led Heero right into the trap.   
  
A rage was boiling up inside her body, tearing through every rational thought and festering just beneath the surface. A blind, red, raw rage. At Akira. At herself. At her own foolishness. And then the vision dissolved, sending her not back to the real world, but to another dreamscape.   
  
An alley, dark and rancid, the air laced with the smell of rotting garbage. She recognized one building, the old abandoned warehouse they had seen in the dead end. Only this was the back view of the warehouse. And the scenery included that of a dumpster, which stank up the air with it's foul smelling innards. And then, she saw it. A hand protruding from inside the dumpster. A bloody, dirty hand, but nonetheless human. Relena bit back the bile rising in her throat and threw open the lid of the dumpster with a hollow feeling in her heart. She peered inside and gasped in horror.  
  
For lying among the garbage like a piece of trash herself was a woman. She had long black hair that reached down to her knees that showed traces of previously being drawn up in a bun. Her eyes were still wide open in an expression of horror and surprise, like twin brown deer eyes caught in headlights. Relena longed for them to shut, to close and be at peace, but she knew this woman had not died a peaceful death.  
  
And although Relena had never met her before, she knew who it was. There was no mistaking those features. Especially those eyes. It was Utena, Wufei's mother. Relena felt another surge of rage wash over her as she recalled Akira's words when she was questioned on where Utena was.   
  
"Utena got tied up on business…sent me to house sit…hope we all are great friends…"  
  
Relena stood frozen, her trembling hand seemed glued to the dirty metal of the dumpster lid, as two tears drizzled down her cheeks. Akira the traitor, had murdered Utena. Akira, the back stabber had been playing them all along. Akira, the OZ elite, would soon have her Heero. Visions didn't lie. But they could change.  
  
Gently, Relena reached down inside the dumpster and grabbed hold of Utena's body. The older woman was much larger than herself, and it was hard to hoist her out of her honorless grave; the weight was too heavy and blood pooled through her fingers. But at last, Relena had freed Wufei's late mother from the disgusting pile of trash Akira had marked as her resting place. She knew that this was just a vision, and anything she did here would not reflect in real life. But it felt like the right thing to do. Wufei would have done it, she knew.  
  
Relena, standing over Utena's body like her protector, stared up at the strange blood red sky. "I've hand enough of this vision!" she screamed, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I want to go back. I want to have a chance. Please!"   
  
Her demands were greeted with silence.   
  
Frustrated, Relena pounded her hand against the accursed dumpster, shaking the piece of metal vigorously. And in doing so, something else inside it was jarred loose. Another hand.   
  
Relena gasped, fighting the sudden urge to vomit. Not Heero. Not Heero. Not Heero, she whispered over and over again. She couldn't bear it. Slowly, she picked the filth off the second body, identifying it as a female. And as the last mound of garbage fell away, Relena screamed, stumbled backwards and fell on the mud slicked ground.  
  
The dead body was her own. **  



	5. F i v e

Adventures In Tokyo  
  
Disclaimer: No matter how many times I'd like to convince myself, Gundam Wing and all respective characters do not belong to me.   
  
  
"Look, I think she's coming around!" Hilde muttered, shaking Relena's shoulder while Duo poured some water from his cupped hands onto her face. Relena's eyes unclouded and she blinked, then coughed up the water that had splashed down her throat.   
  
"Heero! The warehouse…" she coughed, shaking her head as if to clear some terrible image. Duo and Hilde once again exchanged looks.   
  
"Hey, don't worry about it Relena-chan. Heero's fine, he's probably just buying you a souvenir with Pinky somewhere…" Duo said, helping the dazed princess to sit up. "What I'm worried about is you. What happened?!"  
  
Relena jumped to her feet, her eyes wide with fear. "There's no time! I have to help him. I know the way." Without another word, she took off down the street running, white fireworks exploding in the background and the crowd closed in, swallowing her up.   
  
Duo blinked and Hilde yelled. "Come on, we've got to follow her! There's got to be something wrong if she didn't even yell at us for following her to Japan!" Duo nodded and took off running.   
  
  
Heero groaned. It felt as though every cell in his body was on fire. There was a dull roaring in his ears and pain exploded through his skull. What was going on? Bright white lights flashed against his closed eyes making spidery patterns against the black of his eyelids. Fireworks, his brain registered sluggishly, as though it were working on half power. The parade.  
  
Heero groaned again and tried to open his eyes, but found that he couldn't. If he had been watching the parade how did he end up here, where ever "here" may be. And what had happened to him? He strained to think, to brush away the cloudy fog hovering over his mind that was severing all the connections. Forced himself to remember.   
  
A then, the memory surfaced, choppy and faint, but definitely there. He was once again on the curb watching the parade, his arms wrapped around Relena and vaguely aware that Akira was standing behind him, nearly breathing down his neck. She had asked him something, for help. The details were still sketchy, but he could register his own consent.  
  
He was walking with her, reluctantly, following the pink head of hair bobbing through the crowd. And a question. His own. "Where's this concession stand at?" He saw Akira turn, her movements dreadfully slow. Saw her hand, clutching a rag. He couldn't react, his guard was down. She was upon him in an instant, pressing the rag up against his face. Nose. Mouth. There was no air. Except the sickly smell of chemicals that were doused in the rag. The chemicals entered his brain, and his head nearly exploded with the first wave of pain. His gun. Too slow. She wretched it away and sent it clattering to the pavement below, where he would soon follow. She smiled. The memory faded, leaving Heero angry, in pain, and a prisoner in his own body. And even then he could hear her laugh, no longer like music but like nails on a chalk board.   
  
"Sleep easy Heero," it said.  
  
So he did.  
  
  
At first, all she was aware of was her own feet pounding hard on the ground below, and the steady shallow breathing that accompanied long distance running. Her heart beat faster with every step she took, blood pulsing around her body to give her more energy, as though it sensed the urgency of the situation.   
  
But as time went on, she dimly acknowledged the fact that she might be making a mistake. Her visions had predicted the abduction, location, and torture of Heero. But it had also predicted her own death. What if she was walking into a sealed fate? Relena shook her head and pressed herself to run faster, knowing that there was no way in hell she would leave Heero at the mercy of OZ and that undercover bitch Akira. Especially because it was she that had suggested the trip to Japan. It was her, and her alone, who had marked Heero's, and her own fate. So it would have to be her to rescue them both.  
  
Relena was so immersed in her own thought that she failed to notice that two figures were now running by her side. "Hey kid, mind clueing us in on what's going on?" One of them panted, sounding strangely familiar. Relena blinked, then looked to her right and left to see Duo and Hilde struggling to keep up with her. "What are you two doing here?" she demanded angrily, not breaking a pace in her running. Hilde blinked. "Um, how about we discuss that later. What's important now is that we're here and we're going to help. Now, WHAT'S GOING ON?" Relena sighed heavily and said. "It's a long story. But we do have quite a run."  
  
  
  
Heero moaned and opened his eyes. At least I can do *that* again, he mused. Too bad I feel like I just self detonated. He blinked once, then again, just to confirm the repossession of his sight. He went to move his arms and legs to get a reading on his mobility, when he discovered he couldn't. His head couldn't turn as well. He was sitting strapped into a stiff metal chair that was covered in dried red patches that made Heero wonder what kind of a place he was in.   
  
It was obviously some sort of OZ faculty here on Earth that hadn't been revealed to the public. He quickly went through a list of all the possible places to have a base in Tokyo without being detected but came up with nothing. Suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Heero Yuy, cool, calm and collected right to the bitter end."   
  
Heero looked up through his dark brown bangs to see Akira standing partially hidden in the shadows, her red eyes sparkling mischievously. "I bet you never saw this coming, did you?" she inquired, taking a step into the white fluorescent light that hung over Heero's head. In the light, Heero could see that the sweet innocent girl who had housed them for a week no longer existed. Akira's long pink hair was gathered up into a tight bun in the back of her head, and she wore a sardonic smile on her lips. She was no longer in her ceremonial white kimono but in an emerald green OZ military uniform bedecked in glittering badges. Her smile deepened.  
  
"You know why you're here." she rapped out, more statement than question. "I'm to interrogate you on the Gundams and the rebels plans. But you knew that already didn't you?" Heero said nothing, but showed no sign of fear or contempt, just a stony silence and an infliction of pain. "Well then, here's something you don't know. My name is Lieutenant Akira-Setsuna Kaioh of the OZ Number One division." She took a step closer to Heero's chair, her boots echoing loudly in the empty room. "Master of weaponry, battle tactics and profoundly deceptive in the art of undercover infiltration." She stopped her pacing, and stood towering over her prisoner, eyes shining more brightly than ever.   
  
"I always get what I want." She said, bending over so that her face was only centimeters away from his own. "And you're going to give it to me."   
  
  
  
"Here it is!" Relena called, coming to a complete halt and gasping for breath while clutching a stitch in her side. Duo collapsed on the ground next to her, while Hilde stood panting and looking as though she wanted to die.   
  
"I- have- never- run- that- fast- EVER," she breathed. Duo grinned up weakly at her. "Hey, you made a rhyme!"   
  
Everyone present groaned at Duo's pathetic attempts to lighten up the situation and turned back to the task at hand. Infiltrating the old warehouse, which was going to prove to be not so abandoned after all.   
  
"I'm going in from the back," Relena said quietly, not sure when she became an expert on military strategies. "There's something I need to take care of. Hilde, you try through the roof. Duo, you take the side windows. Remember what I told you the room he's being held in looks like?"  
  
"Yes," they both echoed and slunk off to carry out their missions. Relena, feeling as though her insides were nothing but one giant knot, started off towards the rear of the warehouse.  
  
  
Hilde quickly scaled the warehouse using a few pole vaulting techniques she had picked up when they visited Wufei's colony. When she found herself on the roof, she moaned in disbelief. There was no entrance to the building below. No window, no grate, no door. Not even a solitary crack in the twelve inch thick cement and plaster underneath her feet. And to make matters worse, she had heard something click. It was a faint noise, sounding definitely mechanical, coming from somewhere on the rooftop. But there was definitely a click. And when something unknown clicks, you don't move.   
  
Hilde's eyes frantically scanned the perimeter of the rooftop but found nothing. Wait, there was something. A tiny, red flashing light winked out at her from the very corner of the rooftop. Hilde gulped. She didn't need to have any special equipment with her to tell what that was. She had seen enough of them to last her a lifetime and then some. A motion sensor. That little clicking sound she heard earlier was her stepping on one of the many microscopic triggers set all over the rooftop. Once activated, the suckers sent out invisible beams of red light crisscrossing over the entire rooftop. If Hilde moved an inch, she could hit one of the beams and the microscopic triggers would explode with just enough force to kill her and not do any damage to the actual building.   
  
Damn.  
  
"Duo!" Hilde hissed, hoping to warn him in time. "Duo, be careful down there. They have tons of-"  
  
Click  
  
"Nevermind."  
  
  
Relena moved cautiously across the premises, keeping an extra careful look out for motion sensors and cameras. Luckily, she avoided any opposition and made it to the back of the warehouse, which, from what she could gather from her vision, was pretty much remote and unguarded. The only object of interest back here was the trash. Relena shivered.  
  
"I have to do this, I can't just leave her here." she repeated softly to herself, edging closer and closer to the dumpster. She knew she had to get Utena's body out of the OZ trash disposal and at least to a respectable grave. But removing the body in a vision and removing the body in real life had become two very different things. Relena gulped, and with a shaking hand, flung open the dumpster lid.   
  
Slowly, she peered inside, and gasped. The dumpster was filled to the bursting with trash. But no body. Relena let out a confused, yet relieved, sigh and closed the lid. Then it hit her. "Of course!" she whispered. "My vision only told me things that were to come. They probably still have Utena alive, somewhere inside. If only I can reach her and Heero first, before…" Relena trailed off, her own horrific thoughts ending her statement for her.   
Click  
  
Relena froze. She had stepped on a motion sensor. "Oh great, this is all I need," she said angrily, balancing carefully on one foot. Then, inspiration struck. Slowly and carefully, Relena moved one of her arms. Inch by inch. She could only pray that the laser beams sensing motion were criss-crossed against the ground and not in the air as well. Her hand connected with her side pocket and she grinned. Just as slowly, she pulled out an emerald green compact that looked like it was for makeup. When she snapped it open, a computer screen displayed on the top, while a mirror reflected her own determined expression on the bottom. For once in her life, she was glad to have paid attention when Heero insisted on drilling her on the operation of all his infiltration gadgets.   
  
"Locate motion sensor." Relena whispered into the compact. The mini computer whirled and buzzed, then proceeded to shoot a lime green light out of the top in the direction of the dumpster. Without moving from her stationary position, Relena squinted hard at the spot where the thin beam of light was landing on. Sure enough, planted on the dumpster was a tiny piece of metal, the main computer chip controlling the motion sensors for this area. Relena narrowed her eyes and flipped up the mirror part of the compact.  
  
"Gotcha now," she said and swiftly brought the mirror down directly in front of the computer chip's line of fire. The motion sensing lasers the chip was sending out hit the mirror instead and fractured off into a million pieces. There was another faint click and the mini bombs were deactivated.   
  
Relena grinned and re-pocketed her compact, hearing Duo's excited voice whisper from the other side of the building, "My sensor bombs just went off. And I found a way in!"   
  
"I'm coming!" Relena called and edged along the wall towards his location. From high up above them they could hear Hilde moan.   
  
"No fair! My sensor bombs are still on!"  



	6. S i x

Adventures In Tokyo  
  
Disclaimer: No matter how many times I'd like to convince myself, Gundam Wing and all respective characters do not belong to me.   
  
  
"So, shall we get started?"  
  
Heero looked up coldly at his captor, who gave him a pouting frown. "Aw, is the big, strong, silent soldier not going to talk to me?" she asked in a babying voice, poking her sharp manicured nails into his chest with every adjective. "You know I'm going to make you talk one way or another." Heero remained silent, his icy prussian blue eyes challenging his enemy, even now. Akira smiled. "Very well, have it your way." She snapped her fingers and the door on the far side of the room slid open, and a metal cart was wheeled in. On the cart was a spread out towel with many things resting on top of it. Needles and scalpels winked up at Heero in the strange half light of the room. Medicine bottles and full syringes bubbled a deadly warning. And there was a single razor blade that was looking particularly lethal.   
  
"I'm going to enjoy breaking you down," Akira said, picking up a scalpel and fondling it gently. "Piece by piece."   
  
Heero closed his eyes and cleared his mind, forming barriers to the coming pain as he was trained to do. Only it never came. He opened his eyes immediately to see that Akira had replaced the scalpel on her tray of horrors and had picked up a syringe full of a sickly red liquid.   
  
Akira glanced at him and squirted the syringe in the air to test it. "Are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell me Heero? No? Oh, that's OK. Prying it from your drug addled mind is always much more fun." She slunk next to Heero and brought the needle down swiftly to his immobilized arm. She let it hang, suspended in the air a few seconds, the razor sharp point mere millimeters from the surface of his skin. She caught his eye and winked, mocking his helplessness. And then she jammed her hand down into his arm with such viscous force it felt as though she had severed his arm from his body. But he did not scream, or give any signs of discomfort.   
  
Akira stood there for what seemed like hours, long after the contents of the syringe had emptied into his blood stream. She hovered there, with the metallic needle impaled right through his arm, poking through the muscle and scratching at the bone. Heero gritted his teeth.   
  
"Ouch?" Akira supplied, and yanked the needle out as abruptly and brutally as she had entered. Heero already felt a little dizzy.   
  
"You know," Akira was saying, kneeling down on the floor next to him and propping her elbows up on the arm of his chair. "You are so dedicated it make me sick. No one cares what you do. If you tell, your friends will understand." Akira's voice was sounding distant now, muffled, as though she were talking from the other end of bad reception telephone. "No one will care. You'll only be saving yourself a lot of pain."  
  
Heero moaned as a stabbing pain went searing through his body. His vision began to cloud. Akira smiled and affectionately stroked a bloody tangle of hair out of his face. "Are you getting sleepy Heero?" she whispered, her red eyes intense. "Do you have any bedtime stories to tell?" Heero moaned again and Akira got to her feet, then unexpectedly came and straddled his lap. She leaned forward, her face pressed up against his own. "No one needs to know you told me. I can keep a secret. No one would know"  
  
Heero pulled himself out of his drug induced private hell long enough the register what Akira was saying. He smirked wryly. "I would know." He choked out, finding vomit in his own mouth. Vomit and blood. "And I wouldn't be able to live with myself any longer."  
  
Akira let out a scream of frustration and unfurled a swift punch to the side of Heero's head. He took it without a word, and a small drizzle of blood leaked down the side of his face and splattered against his shirt.   
  
"I think it's time for some more medicine." Akira hissed, and began to fill up another syringe.   
  
  
Duo quickly punched in some numbers on his own mini computer (disguised as a compact as well o.o;;) and grinned triumphantly. "There!" he exclaimed, jabbing his finger from a highlighted dot on his monitor to a spot on the wall in front of them.   
  
"The entrance is there!" Relena blinked doubtfully. "It looks like a regular brick wall to me." Duo was beginning to grow impatient. "Why does everyone always second guess me? I'm smart! I can be clever and witty! I can have plans! And I'm telling you the entrance is right there!" To prove his point, Duo took a running start and rammed into the wall with all his might. He succeeded…in loosing a few more brain cells and knocking himself silly. Relena rolled her eyes and snatched the compact away from Duo.   
  
"Duo! A red dot means solid surface! Even *I* know that!"  
  
"Oh…that would explain a lot."  
  
Relena quickly typed in a few more numbers and a green dot appeared on the screen. Quickly, she moved aside some bushes and pointed at a brick that was a different color than the rest. "That's the entrance." Duo was preparing to smash into the point where Relena was pointing, when she stopped him. "Duo. You pull the brick."  
  
"Oh…right."  
  
Duo quickly gave the brick a good tug and the wall slid open to reveal a dark and dimly lit corridor, echoing with the sounds of prisoners moaning. And the steady, insistent leaky drip of water on water.   
  
"The nightmare," Relena whispered to herself, a chill running up and down her spine. This was it. There was no turning back now.  
  
"I'll find Utena, you go look for Heero." Duo whispered, and stepped slowly into the hallway. Relena nodded and took off down a corridor, her footsteps fading away until there was nothing but silence.   
  
  
Heero was in a world of pain. His eyes were open, but it felt like they were closed. Colors and sound and light all ran together in his jumbled mind until he couldn't tell where one sense ended and another began. Pain shot through him like lightning, coming and going in pulses, but always there. Akira was there. Sometimes talking, or yelling, or hitting him. Blood would come, trickling down his face and down his throat. Or did the blood come from his throat to begin with? Heero couldn't tell, it was all one big unclear void. She had kissed him though. That much he was sure of. And he found that to be the worst torment of all, was her sick, twisted affection. She had kissed him. And laughed.  
  
Dr. J trained him for torture. Heero knew that he wouldn't break. Heero knew he would never tell Akira anything. And Heero knew that he would die, taking his honor with him to the grave. *I'm sorry.* he thought. *I'm sorry.*   
  
  
Duo slunk down the halls like a cat, his quick footed feet seeming to hover above the ground rather than walk on it. One thought swirled inside his head.   
  
Utena. Find Utena.  
  
He checked every holding cell he came to, only to find them empty or occupied by some torn, defeated soul. He scoured every inch of the building, doing an excellent job of remaining undetected by the many guards on constant patrol. Finally, the only room left was the execution cell. Duo gulped, typed in the code he had stolen into the keypad and entered the room.   
  
A woman sat in the corner, her arms wrapped around her knees, rocking. She looked like a skeleton trying to pass off as a human. Her eyes were hollow and empty, receding so far back into her skull that Duo could see the outline of her eye socket through her papery white skin. Her long black hair was stringy and matted with dirt. It hung in clumps at her shoulders, shadowing her face from view. Duo blinked. This was Wufei's mom?   
  
"Mrs. Chang??" he asked gently, taking a step toward her. She recoiled at the sound of his voice, then jumped quickly to her feet.   
  
"No, stay back!" she cried in a raspy voice, her eyes wide in panic. "No more! You won't take me! I'm a person, not a toy for you and your filthy soldiers! Not your toy!" Utena Chang collapsed to the floor, sobbing into her hands, while Duo stood there dumfounded. Poor woman has been through hell and back, Duo thought sadly, She must be wishing they could kill her and be done with it.   
  
"Mrs. Chang," Duo began again. "I'm not an OZ soldier. I'm here to help you. I know your son and,"   
  
"Wufei?" Utena gasped, picking her head out of her hands and scrambling to her feet. "Wufei, is that you?"  
  
"N- er, yes. Yes it's me. We have to get out of here, er, Mom!" Duo exclaimed with vigor, watching as the poor woman before him reached out to hug him with arms that were as thing as twigs. Duo led Utena out of the cell, supporting her every movement afraid that she might simply snap in half.  
  
"Come on, the exit is this way," Duo whispered, leading her through the shadows as quietly as possible.   
  
"God bless you son, God bless you."  



	7. S e v e n

Adventures In Tokyo  
  
Disclaimer: No matter how many times I'd like to convince myself, Gundam Wing and all respective characters do not belong to me.   
  
  
Relena started off down the corridor with a feeling of nervous dread settling in her stomach. Here she was, literally living a nightmare come true. It was only natural to feel fear, wasn't it? But the further she walked, the more she thought. About Heero. And about Akira. And she determined that the twisted feeling inside her wasn't fear, but rage. The same rage that consumed her when she first learned of Akira's true side. And now, she fed her hate, fueled her anger. She was going to save Heero. But she was going to take care of Akira as well. Relena felt conflicted inside herself. How could she possibly think such horrible things? But the voice that clamored for Akira's blood was not quieted by her pacifist notions, but rather strengthened. Relena shook her head desperately as she continued down the hall, two crystalline tears coursing down her cheeks.   
  
Eventually, she came to the door that loomed up in her nightmares night after night. The code pad gleamed up at her, taunting her ignorance as to what combination could unlock the room inside. Relena whipped out her compact and punched numbers furiously in, trying time and time again to decode the door's access password. But each time she tried, her own computer screen flashed red. "Dammit!" Relena cried, punching the keypad with her fist. The screen flashed a brilliant green and cooed, 'Access Granted.'  
  
"Figures." Relena mumbled, and watched with a boiling hatred as the door to the room slowly slid open.  
  
  
Akira couldn't understand what was wrong. She had used ever technique she had been taught to try and break down a man. But this one was so frustratingly different. He wasn't a man at all, but a machine. His body would deteriorate quickly enough, that much she could see. But his very will was as tough and complex as the gundanium alloy that he guarded so closely.   
  
She gazed down at her prisoner, who was looking a little worse for wear. His eyes were opaque and empty, a sure sign of an overdose of whatever drugs she had pumped into him. His arm was swollen and bruised where she had given him the first injection and cut down to his bone. His face was smeared with dry blood from all the times she struck him. Akira smiled. "You are nothing. Do you hear me? NOTHING! I can break you down. Break you into PIECES!"   
  
Heero said nothing, but continued on focusing on breathing, no matter how ragged each breath came out to be. Akira screamed and kicked over her table of instruments, sending them spilling everywhere. "I don't need you! There are others! I can break them! They'll tell me anything I want. ANYTHING. You are…you are worthless." Her fury was greeted with silence. And then, she saw it. The one thing that could push her completely off the edge. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't.   
  
He was smirking. No, smiling. A twisted little smile was on his lips, even though his eyes were still blurred and his body was immobile. He was laughing at some little joke. Laughing at her.  
  
"You think this is funny?" Akira screamed, so upset at her own failure that she couldn't contain herself any more. "You're going to die, you know!"  
  
"But I won."  
  
And at the exact moment that Heero spoke, the door to the room slid silently open.  
  
  
When Relena saw him, it was as though time itself had stopped. Her first thought was that she was too late, that he had died. But then she heard him speak.   
  
"But I won."  
  
"Heero!" she cried, running towards him. Akira, who was looking fairly unkempt herself, stepped in front of her path.   
  
"Well, look who else decided to join our little party," she whispered, and unsheathed her gun. Relena, with tears in her eyes, took out the gun Duo had given her and held it shakily up to be level with Akira. Her mind drifted back to the night she had held Lady Une at gun point, and she shivered.  
  
"Don't do this, Relena. It's not your style."  
  
"Give me one reason not to." Relena replied uncertainly.  
  
Akira put her hands slowly in the air, letting her gun fall noiselessly to the floor.   
  
"Because it would be a murder in cold blood."   
  
Relena paused, then frowned. "You're right. I simply couldn't."  
  
Heero gave a little moan from the bolted chair and she immediately dropped to her knees, fiddling around with the chair's controls until the hand, leg and head clasps released their hold on the prisoner. Heero slumped forward onto Relena, his breath coming in short, forced gasps. She cradled him in her arms and buried her face in his hair.   
  
"I'm so sorry." She whispered, holding him close. "So sorry…"  
  
While she did this, Akira retrieved her gun and pointed it at the Cinq princess' head. "I hope you've had enough time to say good-bye!"  
  
"Relena!" came Duo's voice from in the doorway. He was stooped over, his left arm supporting the weight of another. "Look out!" Relena whirled around, her eyes wide, but she could do nothing to stop the shot that rang out through the air.  
  
Akira stood frozen on the spot as the bullet fired from Duo's gun entered her body. She clutched her bleeding stomach and sank to the ground. "This is far from over." she whispered, her eyes rolling back in her head. She passed out at the still shocked Relena's feet.  
  
"Relena! Let's get out of here!" Duo yelled frantically from the doorway. Relena got uncertainly to her feet, the now unconscious Heero with her. "I don't know how fast I can run with him…" she said quietly, focusing all her strength to keep him from slipping through her grasp. Duo shrugged, and a series of small explosions issued from behind him. "It'll be fast enough. We gotta go! They've caught on to our little escapades and we're under fire."   
  
Relena's eyes widened in fear, but Duo reassured her. "Don't worry, I managed to plant enough bombs to blow this place sky high." Any further briefing was cut off by heavy gunfire and bullets richoetting off the wall. The four of them took off down the hallway, dodging bullets and hoping they could make it to the end of the hall.   
  
Unfortunately for them, the end of the hall was a dead end. Duo cursed loudly and whirled around as the sound of the footsteps of soldiers came closer and closer.   
  
"What do we do now?" Relena asked wildly. Duo shrugged, his cobalt blue eyes wide with fear. In his arms, Utena issued a soft moaning noise that was heartbreaking to hear.  
  
"This can't be the end!" Relena cried out. Duo looked at her and drew his gun. "If I'm going down, I'm taking as many of them as I can with me!" He paused, looking at her seriously, then thinking about another option. "Should I just blow the place up now?" he asked, holding up a piece of equipment with a single red button on it. Before Relena could reply, the roof above them was blown completely. They looked up to see Hilde standing above them, offering them a hand up.   
  
"Honestly Duo, do I always need to come save you?" Hilde asked, a bemused smirk on her face.  
  
"Now's not the time, Hil!" Duo cried, lifting Utena up to safety and following her shortly. Duo reached down and hoisted Heero up and grabbed onto Relena's hand at the last second. The moment the last of her foot disappeared into the hole in the ceiling, hundreds of guards swarmed into the room, guns drawn.   
  
"Where are they?" one guard inquired, glancing around nervously. No one ever responded, for at that moment, the entire base imploded, killing all that remained inside. Rubble and debris was blown straight up into the air, only to shower down like rain onto the silhouettes of the five people standing amidst the destruction.   
  
"So we made it out alive again, huh?" Duo smirked, slipping an arm around Hilde's waist. She grinned and retorted, "Thanks to me of course." The two stopped chattering and turned to the right to see Relena and Heero once again attached to each other in a hug. They gazed up at the sky still showering down the aftermath of their latest adventure.   
  
Heero was having a hard time staying on his feet, though refused to admit it. But Relena could tell. She looked up at him, her eyes wavering with worry. "Are you okay?" she asked seriously. He smiled, then coughed up a little bit of blood into his hand.  
  
"I-I…I'm fine now."  
  
She smiled and kissed him and they stayed locked like that for awhile, happy to have made it out alive.  
  
  
End.  



End file.
